frighten

[frahyt-n]

verb (used with object)

1. to make afraid or fearful; throw into a fright; terrify; scare.

   Synonyms: intimidate, dismay, startle, shock

2. to drive (usually followed by away, off, etc.) by scaring.

   to frighten away pigeons from the roof.

verb (used without object)

1. to become frightened.

   a timid child who frightens easily.

frighten

/ ˈfraɪtən /

verb

1. to cause fear in; terrify; scare

2. to drive or force to go (away, off, out, in, etc) by making afraid

Other Word Forms

• frightenable adjective
• frightener noun
• frighteningly adverb
• nonfrightening adjective
• nonfrighteningly adverb
• overfrighten verb
• unfrightening adjective
• frightening adjective
• frightened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of frighten¹

First recorded in 1660–70; fright + -en ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see scare out of one's wits.

Synonym Study

Frighten, alarm, scare, terrify, terrorize, appall all mean to arouse fear in people or animals. To frighten is to shock with sudden, startling, but usually short-lived fear, especially that arising from the apprehension of physical harm: to frighten someone by a sudden noise. To alarm is to arouse the feelings through the realization of some imminent or unexpected danger: to alarm someone by a scream. To scare is to frighten, often without the presence of real danger: Horror movies really scare me. To terrify is to strike with violent, overwhelming, or paralyzing fear: to terrify a city by lawless acts. To terrorize is to terrify in a general, continued, systematic manner, either wantonly or in order to gain control: His marauding armies terrorized the countryside. To appall is to overcome or confound by dread, dismay, shock, or horror: The suffering caused by the earthquake appalled him.

Example Sentences

To recover from the “frightening” drop in business when the road first closed, the inn has put more emphasis on Sunday brunch, the gift shop and live music on summer weekends, Ramey said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The film’s comedy won’t appeal to all tastes, but some will welcome the leavening effect it has on the movie’s more frightening aspects.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Gilbert was a lower category hurricane than Melissa so this is very frightening."

Read more on BBC

"The frightening thing about Melissa is not just the wind - it's the rain and the storm surge. You could have your whole ground floor completely inundated and then part of the first floor as well."

Read more on BBC

"Many people also forget that she played Mary Shelley, who tells her frightening tale of man trying to play God to poets Shelley and Byron, at the beginning of the film," Mr Michaels says.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• agitate 
• alarm 
• astound 
• awe 
• daunt 
• demoralize 
• deter 
• disconcert 
• discourage 
• dishearten 
• dismay 
• faze 
• horrify 
• intimidate 
• perturb 
• petrify 
• startle 
• terrify 
• terrorize 
• unnerve